Spirits of Japanese mythology in popular culture
in episode 4Natsume Yuujinchou Episode 4 Video at AnimeSeason.com. Kappa at 01:39 and a Kitsune in episode 7.Natsume Yuujinchou Episode 7 Video at AnimeCrazy.net. Typical modern representation of a Kitsune (human form with fox ears and tail) at 04:25 Pictured is Natsume, expelling the magical Kanji inscriptions from one of his grandmother's scrolls with his breath, to release the spirit it names from bondage. Behind him is the true form of the cat spirit that follows Natsume in hopes of obtaining the power of the book of scrolls]] Elements from Japanese folklore and Japanese mythology are common in the Japanese and Japanese-influenced (slightly alternative) late 20th and 21st C popular culture. Not only a large proportion of Anime and Manga of course are infused with them, but also interactive storytelling such as paper or electronic roleplaying games. Contrary to popular belief, this fusion of mythology and gaming is not a modern invention. Obake Karuta, as it is popularly known, or Yokai karuta as it is referred to by scholar , means 'monster cards', and was played in 19th century Japan. Each card was decorated with an illustration of the same spirits and demons from Japanese mythology as are found in this list, and a letter of the Hiragana syllabary in the top right corner. Pokémon is open to new interpretation in the light of a comparison between Obake Karuta and say, Whist. Many of the spirits or demons were spirits of objects. Even more than European pixies and imps, whether they were benevolent or malign depended on the relations between the spirits and the human encountering them, the individual spirit and their mood. This belief in spirits of mundane furnishings is in stark contrast to the European tradition. For one thing, Europeans commonly call things "inanimate objects" with not the slightest hint that they might be otherwise. But the clincher is that, by the Middle Ages at the very latest, even mythical animated or sentient objects were always objects possessed by a spirit, not a being of that form. Water, minerals like rocks, perhaps, a fair number of 'genius locii' (spirit of a place), and of course trees were considered by European myth to have spirits within, but never manufactured objects. The Shinto animist religion believed material items contained within them such Tsukumogami spirits which awoke after their 100th birthday. Perhaps originally a rumor spread by furniture makers? "Buy a new one, already!" The Western "possession" of objects by spirits, and imbuing objects with magical properties, if rare, were both present in Japanese myth as well, but the archetype of the spirit object is so ingrained in Japanese myth that even the spirit-possessed sword, so pervasive in Western modern fantasy literature, hardly ever appears. Spirits in Manga and Anime and Japanese games may be swords, but they do not enchant them. Japanese modern myths often blend modern technology and medieval fantasy into what has so far been a unique fusion; the products of science, or at least science fiction, such as robots and battle mechs are given a spirit nature by naming them after mythological air and water spirits and fiery demons. Amanojaku ]] Wikipedia:Amanojaku: the Amanojaku's ability to know the desires of its victims makes it the better able to find suitable or effective temptations for them * There is a Japanese musical group called Amanojaku. Founded in 1986 by Yoichi Watanabe, their sound is a fusion of Western music styles with Wikipedia:taiko. * Amanojaku is the demon who possessed the cat Kaya in the Wikipedia:anime Ghost Stories. * In episode 13 and 14 of the anime Wikipedia:Hanada Shōnen Shi, an Amanojaku is the "ghost of the day". * The narrating character in the Wikipedia:manga Wikipedia:Legend of the Overfiend is named Wikipedia:Amano Jyaku. * In Japanese, the term amanojaku also refers to a person who is deliberately contradictory, someone who argues for the sake of arguing, or can be used in common Japanese conversation to refer to someone who is a "Perverted Demon". * In Wikipedia:Final Fantasy XI, Amanojaku is a katana which gets stronger as the user gets closer to death. * In Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, the Amanojaku is a monster of the week and was adapted into Marvo the Meanie in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Amefurikozō Wikipedia:Amefurikozō: spirits in the form of children who may invoke storms * An Amefurikozō appears in a short Wikipedia:manga story of the same name, known as "Rain Boy" in the West, by comic artist Wikipedia:Osamu Tezuka. * The Pokémon (descendant of Obake Karuta) Castform shares the Amefurikozō's childlike appearance and ability to control weather. * An Amefurikozō appears in the Karas anime (voiced by Wikipedia:Sandy Fox). * Shinichi and Misao are Kitsune from Japan that terrorizes towns and destroys them for their own entertainment. * Misao is supposedly the person that controlled the girls in the Wikipedia:Salem Witch Trials, controlling them with malach. Amikiri Amikiri (pictured in the Wikipedia:Gazu Hyakki Yakō "The Illustrated Night Parade of A Hundred Demons" by Toriyama Sekien): bane of fishermen, its name means "net cutter"; it is a small snake-like creature with a bird-like head and lobster-like claws * The Amikiri appears as a monster of the week in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and was adapted in Witchblade in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. Bakeneko Wikipedia:Bakeneko: Cat spirits or demons, that may take a roughly humanoid shape: the Nekomata version has a forked tail or multiple tails * In the manga/anime series ''Wikipedia:InuYasha, Kirara, Sango's demon companion, is a Bakeneko (specifically a Nekomata type because of its forked tail) that transforms from a cute cat-like creature into a large demon surrounded in flame and capable of flight. * Bakeneko are featured in the anime series Wikipedia:Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales and Mononoke. * In the Wikipedia:manga Wikipedia:Shaman King, Wikipedia:Hao Asakura's spirit ally from 1,000 years ago is a nekomata named Wikipedia:Matamune. * In the manga/Wikipedia:anime series Wikipedia:Hyper Police, the character Natsuki Sasahara is half-human/half-nekomata. * In the anime Wikipedia:Inukami!, the character Tomekichi is a benevolent nekomata who honors an obligation to a deceased priest who once took care of him. * The Pokémon game series itself based on the 19th century monster card game Obake Karuta, its Psychic-type Pokémon Wikipedia:Espeon is a Nekomata cat-like creature with a forked tail, albeit a lavender one. * Spirits are featured prominently in Persona video game series; in Wikipedia:Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, Beast Nekomata appear as recruitable allies in the game's Wikipedia:Ginza and Ikebukuro districts. Nekomata is also one of the main Protagonist's summonable Personae in Wikipedia:Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3. They also appear in some fashion in most of the other Wikipedia:Shin Megami Tensei games, although the names disappeared in some of the earlier US releases. * In Karas, the character Yurine (voiced by Wikipedia:Piper Perabo in Vol. 1 and by Wikipedia:Cree Summer in Vol. 2) appears as both a human and a white cat with a forked-tail. * In the series Claymore, Luciela, the abyssal one of the South, has an awakened form resembling a two-tailed cat demon. * In the video games Wikipedia:Disgaea: Hour of Darkness and Wikipedia:Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories, the player has the ability to create nekomata characters. * Chen and Rin from Wikipedia:Touhou Project are nekomata. Chen is a nekomata Wikipedia:shikigami, while Rin is a cross of both a nekomata and a Kasha. * In the manga/anime series Naruto, Kakuzu and Hidan find the two-tailed bijuu which has the appearance of a giant nekomata when fully materialized. * An artist by the name of "Nekomata Master" is present in multiple Wikipedia:Konami related video games, especially in the Wikipedia:BEMANI series. * In the Wikipedia:Digimon series, there is a Wikipedia:Digimon named Wikipedia:Persiamon who takes the form of a two tailed cat woman. Wikipedia:Gatomon X also has two tails as opposed to the one of the regular kind. * In the anime series Wikipedia:Xam'd: Lost Memories, there is a small, green and white, rabbit-like creature called a nekomata adopted by two children who name it Roppa. * In the manga/anime series Bleach, Wikipedia:Yoruichi Shihōin has the ability to transform from human to cat. Wikipedia:Byakuya Kuchiki referred to her as a Bakeneko in his younger days. * The PC game Wikipedia:Battlefield 2142 contains a hover tank for the PAC called the Type 32 Nekomata. * The character Shino from Oni-Gokko is a Bakeneko. * In AdventureQuest Worlds, the Nekomata is featured as an NPC and a monster. He pretends to help the players by getting rid of the Skello Kitty infestation. He later turns out to be in cahoots with Kitsune and the player fights Nekomata. * In Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi's manga series, Wikipedia:Rin-ne, the black cat called Rokumon is called a Baneneko. * In another of Rumiko Takahashi's manga series, Wikipedia:Ranma 1/2, a bakeneko is in the series looking for a bride. * The character Himari Noihara from the Wikipedia:manga/Wikipedia:anime series Wikipedia:Omamori Himari is a bakeneko. Binbōgami Wikipedia:Binbōgami: Skinny dirty elderly man with uchiwa fan in hand; the warmth of the Irori sunken hearth, if lit on festival days, attracts his opposite, Fukunokami (福の神, the kami of good luck, and thus dispels the Binbōgami. * Binbogami makes an appearance in the Wikipedia:Megami Tensei games as a member of the Fiend race. He is shown as being an effeminate, but highly masochistic demon riding upside-down on a cloud. * Binbōgami appears as a monster of the week in the super sentai series Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and did make a cameo in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers as a crowd monster. Chochinobake Wikipedia:Chochinobake * Chochinobake appears as a monster of the week in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and was adapted as Lanterra in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Funayūrei Wikipedia:Funayūrei: Ghost ships. Ships that are merely abandoned are not on this list; only those with a fated or sentient presence. This is still expanding the definition a little; Funayūrei, like all Japanese object spirits, were strictly sentient beings * The Funayūrei are featured in AdventureQuest Worlds. They are located near a river on Yokai Island. * Solitary (and easy to miss) ghost ship enemy in the glass tunnel leading to the Junon Underwater Reactor in Final Fantasy VII (on Wikia: Ghost Ship * A ghost ship, the Princess Louvia, features prominently in the plot of The Legend of Dragoon.The Legend of Dragoon Wiki Ghost ShipGhost Ship collision cutscene and walkthrough, YouTube. FMV at 0:45 on video. Legend of Dragoon was a pet project of the obviously well-funded Sony Entertainment, and the cutscenes were very high quality for a PS1 game released in late 1999 Fate is woven tightly between the party characters, their quest, the ship, and even its name, in ways that do not become clear until long after they leave it. * One of the characters is captured by a Ghost Ship at the beginning of Wikipedia:Legend of Zelda:Phantom HourglassGhost Ship Gashadokuro Wikipedia:Gashadokuro: Gigantic skeleton spirits * In the Super Sentai series Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger, Gasha Dokuro is one of the main villains. He appears in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers, and Wikipedia:Power Rangers Zeo as "Wikipedia:Rito Revolto". * In the Wikipedia:Squaresoft videogame Wikipedia:Chrono Trigger, there is a Gashadokuro boss called "Zombor". * The Gashadokuro is portrayed in varying roles of significance throughout the Wikipedia:Castlevania series. * In Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms, a Gashadokuro rises from the ground of a cemetery and rakes the ground to unleash many monsters on Hellboy. * In Wikipedia:Goemon's Great Adventure a Gashadokuro is encountered in an early level while on a bridge. * In the Studio Ghibli movie Wikipedia:Pom Poko, the monster parade scene features a Gashadokuro. * In AdventureQuest Worlds, the Gashadokuro is featured as the forbidden Beast of Chaos called the O-Dokuro. Kitsune uses the Hanzamune Blade to free it from a time rift. * In the Wikipedia:manga/Wikipedia:anime series, Wikipedia:InuYasha, Miroku and Sango fight a being that can control bones, a bone demon, that could possibly be a Gashadokuro. Hone-onna Wikipedia:Hone-onna: Spirit taking the form of an emaciated or skeletal woman * In the Wikipedia:anime Wikipedia:Hell Girl, one of Ai's assistants, is a Hone-onna of the same name. She usually appears as an attractive woman dressed in a kimono and is also the one who becomes the red straw doll whenever revenge is requested. Jorōgumo Wikipedia:Jorōgumo: Spider-related malevolent spirit or demon; as is appropriate for tales of a creature that uses stealth and subterfuge in pursuit of its prey, it may appear in many different forms * The Wikipedia:ero-game Wikipedia:Atlach-Nacha is about a Jorōgumo blending into human society. * In the Japanese anime Wikipedia:Wicked City, a woman similar to the Jorōgumo appears in bed with Taki. * In the manga Wikipedia:xxxHOLiC, a Jorōgumo captures a Zashiki-warashi and consumes Watanuki's right eye, setting her free. * In the card came Wikipedia:Yu-Gi-Oh, the monster Jirai Gumo is based on Jorōgumo. * In the manga Wikipedia:Rosario + Vampire, as well as its animated adaptation, Keito, one of the members of the Student Police, is a Jorōgumo. * In the game Wikipedia:Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner 2: Raidou Kuzunoha vs. King Abaddon, Jorougumo is the first boss faced by the Devil Summoner Raidou Kuzunoha. * In the popular game Wikipedia:Okami, the first actual boss called the Spider Queen is based on the Jorogumo. * In Wikipedia:Ghostbusters: The Video Game, the Spider Witch is based on the Jorōgumo. * In Wikipedia:Digimon Adventure 02, the villain Arukenimon is based on the Jorogumo. * In Soul Eater, the villain Arachne was probably based on the Jorogumo. * In the animated movie Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms, Hellboy meets a Jorōgumo who tries to kill him and steal the Sword of Storms (which has two powerful demon brothers named Lightning and Thunder sealed within). Like in many stories of legend, this Jorōgumo can breathe fire and tries to lure Hellboy by playing a Biwa. * One of the common enemies in Wikipedia:Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is a Jorōgumo named Arachne. Kamaitachi Wikipedia:Kamaitachi: Aggressive spirits. One of the original names was kamaetachi, for 'attacking'; a more recent scholar made a pun of this and gave the modern name meaning 'weasel' and 'whirlwind'. This later form is thus a whirling frenzy or whirlwind of slashing animals not dissimilar from that seen in cartoons to simulate a fight, or the Looney Tunes Tasmanian Devil (not a very dignified association, but a close one). * In the long-running anime series Wikipedia:GeGeGe No Kitaro, Wikipedia:Kamaitachi is portrayed as a humanoid Wikipedia:Yōkai with stretched out lips and green skin; able to fly it high speeds and cut through anything he smashes into. He appeared in the 1985 anime version of Wikipedia:GeGeGe No Kitaro in the first episode, "The Yōkai Castle" as an antagonist to Kitaro. He is seen working alongside Wikipedia:Futakuchi-onna and Wikipedia:Tantanbou. He also appears in the 2007 anime version, fighting against Kitaro and a tribe of Tengu. He can be seen forming his arms into sharp blades that he uses to attack with. * Temari in the Wikipedia:manga/Wikipedia:anime Wikipedia:Naruto uses kamaitachi-inspired techniques, including the summoning of a Kamaitachi named Kamatari. * In the anime series Wikipedia:Kanokon, the character Omi Kiriyama is a Kamaitachi. * In the anime Wikipedia:One Piece, the character Tashigi, a swordswoman, used a technique called Kamaitachi. * Fuuko in the Wikipedia:anime Wikipedia:Flame of Recca uses an air cutter attack on one of her enemies named Kamaitachi. * Jirobo Ikkanzaka from Bleach is known as "Kamaitachi Jirobo" for his Kamaitachi attack method. * In the Wikipedia:Digimon series, Wikipedia:Kyukimon is a Digimon patterned after the legend of the kamaitachi. The characters 窮奇, used to write Kamaitachi, can alternatively be read as kyūki. * In the Japanese version of Pokémon (see Obake Karuta), there is an attack named "Kamaitachi". It was translated into English as "Razor Wind". Also in Pokémon, two species (Sneasel and Weavile) are based on the Kamaitachi, being weasels with sharp claws that resemble blades. * There is a series of Sound Novels by Wikipedia:Chunsoft entitled Wikipedia:Kamaitachi no Yoru (Night of the Kamaitachi). * In the PlayStation game Wikipedia:Final Fantasy Tactics, Kamaitachi is one of the Wikipedia:elemental abilities of the Geomancer Class. * In the anime Wikipedia:Ushio and Tora, the two-part story "Insanity of the Wind" told over episodes 9 and 10 involves one of the three Kamaitachi triplets going on a killing spree, forcing the other two to ask Ushio for help. * In the anime Wikipedia:Mokke, episode 10 concerns a young girl befriending a kamaitachi. * In the anime Wikipedia:Ghost Hunt, episode 24 includes kazuyasu of the Yoshimi family to be possessed by a spirit that uses a kamaitachi as a weapon * In the Super Nintendo game Ninja Warriors, Kamaitachi is one of the three playable characters, a cyborg ninja that attacks with blades on its arms. * Kamaitachi appear as enemy monsters in the Wikipedia:PlayStation 2 game Wikipedia:Ōkami, though in the English version, they are called poltergeists. * Kamaitachi appear as minor enemies in the Wikipedia:Nintendo DS game Wikipedia:Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier. * In the Wikipedia:Nintendo DS game Wikipedia:Mega Man ZX, one of the eight main bosses, Hurricaune, is a weasel that fights with electric blades. * In the Wikipedia:MMORPG Wikipedia:Ragnarok Online, the Ninja class has a skill named Kamaitachi. It is described as the wrath of the wind. * In the anime and manga series Ghost Hunt during the cursed house case, some of the zombie/dead spirits used Kamaitachi. * In the Wikipedia:Monster Rancher video game series by Wikipedia:Tecmo, Ripper, a swift, weasel-like monster species capable of manipulating ice and wind is based on the Kamaitachi legend. * Kamaitachi is the name of the program used to subvert the Apple Computer-supplied bootloader / kernel system in the Apple iPhone to get it run alternative kernels such as linux. * Kamaitachi is the name of a Mikura (a Wikipedia:yōkai turned blood-drinking machine) in the anime/CG 6-part OVA Karas (voiced by Wikipedia:Dave Mallow). It is depicted as a humanoid robot with various razor blades. * In the Wikipedia:Game Boy Advance game Wikipedia:Golden Sun, there is an item called a "Weasel Claw" that can be used up in battle to unleash a wind-element attack on the enemy. * In the Basilisk manga, Chikuma Koshiro has a technique called Senpuu Kamaitachi, a local wind vortex strong enough to partially blow a person's head off. * In the video game, Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Kisuke wields a sword technique called Kamaitachi. * In Wikipedia:SVC Chaos: SNK vs. Capcom, if Genjuro Kibagami (originally from the Wikipedia:Samurai Shodown series) is defeated by Red Arremer (from Wikipedia:Ghosts n' Goblins), he will turn into a kamaitachi. * In the Wikipedia:manga Wikipedia:Rurouni Kenshin, a man called Raijuta uses a technique called the Kamaitachi, which creates a vacuum of air. * Kamaitachi appear as minor enemies in "Wikipedia:Namco X Capcom". * In Wikipedia:Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan manga, in the toono ark he meets one of the youkai, Itaku, who is a kamaitachi carrying sickles Kappa Wikipedia:Kappa (folklore): Water spirits, natural swimmers; the phrase "Kappa drowning in a river" is used to convey the lesson that even experts can make mistakes encounters various many mythological monsters (Wikipedia:yōkai): Kappa, an Oni, a trio of Rokurokubi, a Jorōgumo, a group of Nukekubi, and three restless ghosts]] * The Kappa appears in Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms. Hellboy had to subdue it and drain it of its water in order to gain specific information from it. * In Wikipedia:Tokyo Mew Mew, Kish created a Chimera Anima version of a Kappa (namely the Hyōsube type) from Aoyamada's spirit. * In the anime OVA Karas, Suiko the Kappa (voiced by Wikipedia:Keith Burgess) is a Mikura (a Wikipedia:yōkai turned blood-drinking machine) that resembles a robotic Kappa. It conceals itself in the form of a wrestler. * In the MMORPG game AdventureQuest Worlds, there are enemies called Kappa Ninjas. They come in two types: a blue Kappa Ninja and a green Kappa Ninja with an orange shell. * Nitori Kawashiro from the Wikipedia:Touhou Project game Wikipedia:Mountain of Faith is a Kappa. * In the video game Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the main characters battle Kappa that are always located by a river. * Ouji Karasuma from Wikipedia:School Rumble owns rain gear which draws many characteristics of Kappa. He lends the set to Tenma in one episode. * The Pokémon (Obake Karuta descendant) Golduck appears to be based on the Kappa legend. * In the anime Wikipedia:Arakawa Under the Bridge the mayor of the river claims to be a Kappa. * In Wikipedia:Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan A kappa is seen many times Kitsune Wikipedia:Kitsune * Sakura from the anime Wikipedia:Hyper Police. * Kitsune is the name of a woman/legendary figure in Wikipedia:The Veil trilogy by Wikipedia:Christopher Golden. Kitsune usually takes the guise of a beautiful Japanese woman who wears a foxfur cloak, but is able to transform herself into a fox when the occasion calls for it. At turns Kitsune is enamored by, and adversarial of, the main character of the series, Oliver Bascombe. * Wikipedia:Miles "Tails" Prower from the Sonic the Hedgehog video game series is said by several sources to be a kitsune, due to him having two tails. * The Wikipedia:Pokémon Wikipedia:Vulpix, Wikipedia:Zorua, and the Wikipedia:Digimon Wikipedia:Renamon, as well as their evolutions, are based on kitsune and similar fox legends. * The Wikipedia:InuYasha character Wikipedia:Shippo is a kitsune demon. The same Wikipedia:mangaka's (Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi) earlier work Wikipedia:Urusei Yatsura also features a fox spirit named Kitsune who becomes a loyal companion to one of the series leads, Wikipedia:Shinobu Miyake, and can transform into "chibi" versions (with fox ears) of the other characters from the series. * Wikipedia:Ran Yakumo from Wikipedia:Touhou, Wikipedia:Yukari Yakumo's Wikipedia:shikigami, is also a kitsune. * Wikipedia:Youko Kurama from Wikipedia:YuYu Hakusho is a kitsune spirit living in a human body. * Wikipedia:Wagaya no Oinari-sama is an anime about a mischievous guardian kitsune, Kugen Tenko. * The series Wikipedia:Usagi Yojimbo by Wikipedia:Stan Sakai contains a recurring female thief and friend of Usagi named Kitsune. * In Wikipedia:Ken Akamatsu's manga series Wikipedia:Love Hina, the character Mitsune Konno is nicknamed "Kitsune" due to her having fox-like eyes. * In the Star Fox video game series, the main character Wikipedia:Fox McCloud was partially inspired by a kitsune. * Chizuru Minamoto from the Wikipedia:light novel/anime/manga series Wikipedia:Kanokon is a kitsune who falls in love with the main character Kouta Oyamada. Her brother Tayura and her adoptive mother Tamamo are also kitsune, the latter being based on Wikipedia:Tamamo-no-Mae, the golden, white-faced nine-tailed fox of Japanese myth. * In The Legend of Zelda video game series, the Keaton race is based on kitsune. * In Wikipedia:Kelley Armstrong's short story collection, Men of the Otherworld, the story "Kitsunegari" features several kitsune and a part-kitsune werewolf. * In Wikipedia:Ljane Smith's The Vampire Diaries - The Return, Nightfall, the main antagonists is a couple of cruel and malevolent kitsune twins, Shinichi and Misao, who are bent on destroying the entire town for their own amusement * In the video game series Animal Crossing Tom Nook's shopkeeper rival, Crazy Redd, is a kitsune (opposingly as Nook himself is a tanuki). Redd is known as a trickster in the game, operating the Black Market; he will often sell the player plain objects at inflated prices. * In Wikipedia:Fighting Foodons, Rose Marinade's true form is a two-tailed Kitsune. * In the manga Wikipedia:Naruto, the main character Wikipedia:Naruto Uzumaki is possessed by a very destructive giant kitsune, the Wikipedia:Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, at the time of his birth via a seal. As a result, he has facial markings that resemble fox whiskers and is often mischievous. When enraged, he takes on fox-like traits and occasionally projects a fox-shaped aura with a matching shadow. * A Kitsune appears in Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms (voiced by Wikipedia:Gwendoline Yeo). It acts as Hellboy's guide in the Japanese Mythology world. * In the video game Wikipedia:Namco x Capcom, the female protagontist, Xiaomu, is a 765-year-old kitsune. * The PS2 & Wii game Wikipedia:Ōkami incorporates many aspects of the Kitsune legends during the second arc of the game, including Nine-tails, fox-fire, transformation, god-like appearance of white fur, and mischievous abilities (like division and interfering during the celestial brush mode). The myth of Wikipedia:Tamamo-no-Mae is also referenced. * In Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds, the 4th Lord of Chaos is named Kitsune. Kitsune is shown as an anthropomorphic fox whose desire to not have outsiders on Yokai Island. This had led Drakath into Chaorrupting him into an armored Yokai Shogun. * In the video game Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Kitsune are seen in the form of women carrying either a lantern or an umbrella and are spotted by the save points. * In Wikipedia:Rosario + Vampire, Kuyo, the head of the Student Police (and final opponent of the first story arc), is a four-tailed Kitsune. * A Kitsune is featured as the "Monster of the Week" in the Wikipedia:Super Sentai series Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. It was adapted as the monster form of Wikipedia:Katherine Hillard in Season 3 of Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. * In the manga/anime series Wikipedia:Omamori Himari, the character Tama is based on the myth of Tamamo-no-Mae. * Characters of the Venomancer class in the MMORPG Wikipedia:Perfect World are exclusively female, and can transform into a fox. One of the indigenous wandering creatures of PW is a nine-tailed fox. Mokumokuren Wikipedia:Mokumokuren * The Mokumokuren appears as a monster of the week in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and was adapted as the See-Monster in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season 3 and also reappears in 2 episodes of the 10 episode arc Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. Mujina Wikipedia:Mujina * The Mujina appears as a monster of the week in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger and was adapted as Artistmole in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. Noppera-bō Wikipedia:Noppera-bō * In Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds, there are Noppera-bō versions of Yokai Island's ninja and samurai. * In a filler episode from the Wikipedia:anime/Wikipedia:manga series Wikipedia:InuYasha, a man with no face tries to steal Inuyasha's sword Tetsusaiga for Jaken. * In Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger the Noppera-bō is featured as a "Monster of the Week". Nue Wikipedia:Nue * Nue (鵺) is the name of one of the three strongest Tayutai in Lump of Sugar's Wikipedia:bishōjo game Wikipedia:Tayutama: Kiss on my Deity. Oddly, however, her true form is not a Nue; instead being some sort of mollusc. * The Japanese band Wikipedia:Kagrra has an album titled Nue, containing the track "Nue no Naku Koro" (鵺の哭く頃, "When the Nue Cries". * The Avex artist Wikipedia:Tomiko Van has a song called "Nue no Naku Yoru" (鵺の鳴く夜, "The Night When the Nue Cries") * The Japanese heavy metal band Wikipedia:Onmyouza has a song called "Nue". * A Nue appears in many of the games in the Wikipedia:Megami Tensei series, as a potential fight opponent or ally. * A Nue appears at the gate to the King of All Night's Dreaming's castle in Wikipedia:Neil Gaiman and Wikipedia:Yoshitaka Amano's Wikipedia:Sandman: The Dream Hunters. * Zabimaru, the Wikipedia:zanpakutō of Wikipedia:Renji Abarai in the manga/anime series Bleach, manifests itself as a Nue. * A Nue appears as the boss for the Extra Stage of the twelfth Wikipedia:Touhou Project game, Undefined Fantastic Object, and is named Nue Houjuu. This Nue has the ability to conceal her true form, so all descriptions of her are different. The form she's fought in looks like a human that has three red metallic wings and three blue wings similar to tails. This is her true form, and the fact that it's her true form is the reason she attacked the main characters, so they couldn't go out and tell everyone what she looks like. She's also enveloped in a black cloud during a few of her attacks. * One of the monsters a player fights in the Wikipedia:PlayStation 2 game Wikipedia:Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is a Nue. In the English version, it's referred to as a chimera. * In the Japanese version of the game Wikipedia:Blood Will Tell, Kagemitsu Daigo transforms into a Nue during one of the final battles. However, in the English version, the monster is referred to as a chimera. * In the game Wikipedia:Breath of Fire III, the first boss is a Nue, which kills villagers to feed its young. * Nue is the name of a Mikura (a Wikipedia:yōkai turned blood-drinking machine) in the anime/CG 6-part OVA Karas (voiced by Wikipedia:Jay Hernandez). Unlike the other Mikura, he opposes Eko. * Nue is a Wikipedia:tiger monster in various Wikipedia:Final Fantasy games. * In Wikipedia:Monsterology: The Complete Book of Fabulous Beasts, the Nue (Chimera japonicus), is depicted as a relatively small and misunderstood creature, whose reputation derives from the foul odor of the fumes in produces from its rear end when threatened. * The anime series Mononoke features a two-episode arc, titled "Nue," in which the mononoke is determined to have the form/shape (Katachi) of a Nue. Its appearance does not match the historical description; it instead appears as a human at different ages depending on the observer, which is explained as the reason for the nue's fantastic description—that different observers combined rushed glances of different animals into one creature. * A Nue appears in the Wikipedia:Super Sentai series Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger as a messenger for the head villain, Daimaou. This Nue is humanoid, and thus does not possess a tail. However, he can unleash a giant snake from a tattoo on his shoulder. It was adapted into Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers as the Hate Master. * Nue are intelligent and funny looking creatures in the game Wikipedia:Chrono Trigger. They look nothing like their traditional counterparts. * In the video game Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a Nue is one of the boss characters. * In the manga Wikipedia:Air Gear, the character Nue is named after these creatures. Nure-onna Wikipedia:Nure-onna * A Nure-onna is featured in Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds. She is depicted as a half-woman half-snake monster that dwells in the Yokai River on Yokai Island. Obake Karuta :Main article: Anarchopedia: Obake Karuta Obake karuta is a Japanese card game created in the Edo period that remained popular through the 1910s or 1920s.Pflugfelder, Gregory M. "Display Case 8: Monster Merchandise (II)". Godzilla Conquers the Globe: Japanese Movie Monsters in International Film Art. Accessed 11 March 2006. Each playing card in the deck features a character from the hiragana syllabary and a creature from Wikipedia:Japanese mythology; in fact, obake karuta means ghost cards or monster cards. Success requires knowledge of Japanese mythology and folklore as players attempt to collect cards that match clues read by a referee. The player who accumulates the most cards by the end of the game wins. Obake karuta is an early example of the common Japanese fascination with classifying monsters and creating new ones. The game is one of the earliest attempts by Japanese companies to define and categorize legendary creatures. As such, it is a precursor to the Godzilla films of the 1950s and later. Even more closely, obake karuta resembles the Yu-Gi-Oh! or Pokémon Trading Card Game, which also involves collecting cards that represent fabulous creatures. In fact, many Pokémon were designed specifically after creatures from Japanese mythology. Oni Wikipedia:Oni (folklore) * In Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi's Wikipedia:Urusei Yatsura, the female lead, Wikipedia:Lum Invader, is an oni alien depicted wearing a tiger-skin bikini; as a matter of fact, the entire alien race to which she belongs is fashioned after the classical concept of oni. * Wikipedia:Chie Shinohara's manga Wikipedia:Ao no Fuuin uses oni as a main theme when the female protagonist is a descendant of a beautiful oni queen who wants to resurrect her kind. * Takahashi's Wikipedia:Ranma 1/2 features a story in which one of the characters, Wikipedia:Kasumi Tendo, is possessed by an oni, causing her to behave in uncharacteristically "evil" (yet humorous) ways. * The Wikipedia:Touhou Project series of shoot-'em-up games has a character named Suika Ibuki, an oni with a massive gourd on her back capable of producing an endless amount of sake; legend has it that no one has seen her sober in her 700 year life. A later game in the series marked the appearance of Yuugi Hoshiguma, Suika's oni associate from a group of four incredibly powerful oni that they both belong to, called the "Four Devas of the Mountains." Yuugi, despite being as great a drinker as Suika while being just as cheerful, is even less of a lightweight than Suika, being able to enter into a fight without seeming intoxicated or even spilling any of the sake in her sake dish. * The Bleach character Love Aikawa has an Oni-themed mask. Also, his zanpakuto's released form is a large spiked Wikipedia:kanabō. * In the Japanese release of Wikipedia:The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, the Fierce Deity incarnation of Link is referred to as Oni Link. * In the Wikipedia:Mortal Kombat universe, the denizens of the Netherrealm (the series' equivalent of Wikipedia:hell) are called Oni (though they represent a drastic deviation from the Japanese concept, being primitive ape-like demons), and the oni character Drahmin's right arm is replaced by a metal club. Another Oni fighter of the series is Moloch. * In Dragon Ball and Wikipedia:Dragon Ball Z, an Oni called King Yemma runs the Check-In Station in Other World, where he decides which souls go to Heaven and which to Hell. The Check-In Station and Hell are also staffed by many other oni, many of which hold iron clubs. * In the Wikipedia:Digimon series, there is a level Champion digimon called Wikipedia:Ogremon, which is a classical interpretation of the Japanese Oni. Hyogamon and Fugamon (two variations of Ogremon, representing ice and wind respectively) are also Oni. * In Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms, Wikipedia:Hellboy fought a giant Oni. Before the final blow can be struck with the Sword of Storms, the Oni fades away so that Hellboy can break the Sword of Storms on the statue releasing the brothers Thunder and Lightning. * Wikipedia:Kamen Rider Hibiki, a Japanese Wikipedia:tokusatsu series, uses Oni (which is what the Kamen Riders here are referred as) as a main theme of the series. It tells the story about ancient battle between the Oni and the Makamou. In another popular tokusatsu, the Ultra series, it is not uncommon for Oni to appear and do battle with an Ultraman. * In Wikipedia:The Venture Brothers season two episode "Wikipedia:I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills‎", Dr. Venture is haunted by a floating Oni which has followed him from Japan. Venture and Wikipedia:Doctor Byron Orpheus, a necromancer, attempt to banish the spirit using "tempest tongs" but the effort fails. Venture then attempts to trap the oni in the trunk of his car, at which point the demon possesses the automobile. The Oni attempts to lead Venture to Wikipedia:Myra Brandish, Venture's former bodyguard and love who has kidnapped his sons. At the conclusion of the episode, the Oni leaves with Dr. Henry Killinger, for whom the spirit has been working throughout the episode. * In the video game Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Oni are one of the various enemies the main characters battle. * Meisuke "Nube" Nueno of the manga/anime Wikipedia:Jigoku Sensei Nube has an Oni residing in his right hand, which he uses to exorcise and defeat demons. * In Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi's Wikipedia:manga Wikipedia:InuYasha, Oni are common Wikipedia:Yokai in the series. * The literal translation of Wikipedia:Oni is Wikipedia:demon or Wikipedia:ogre. Onibaba Wikipedia:Onibaba (folklore) * The meaning of the word "Onibaba" in Japanese means "demon mother". * Onibaba is featured in Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds. She is featured in Yokai Island's junkyard near the Tsukumogami Shrine. Rokurokubi Wikipedia:Rokurokubi * Chuda Chiaki in Wikipedia:Legend of the Five Rings is a Rokurokubi. * The 2005 movie Yōkai Daisensō features a Rokurokubi. * Miki Hosokawa in the manga/anime Wikipedia:Hell Teacher Nūbē is a Rokurokubi. * Rokurokubi are in the film Wikipedia:Pom Poko, during the "Operation Specter" scene. * Three Rokurokubi appear in the animated film Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms. They appear as one of several groups of monsters trying to steal the Sword of Storms from Hellboy so that they can release the spirit of two imprisoned demons. * The character Orochimaru in the manga/anime Wikipedia:Naruto is shown to stretch his neck great distances while fighting three of the main characters. * In the movie Wikipedia:Fear(s) of the Dark, Sumako, haunted by the spirit of an ancient samurai, sees a Rokurokubi. Shikigami Wikipedia:Shikigami * In the intermission of the episode of Wikipedia:Yu Yu Hakusho appears the shikigami *In the manga Wikipedia:Rosario + Vampire the shikigami of Kiria in the book nº 8 * In Wikipedia:manga series such as Wikipedia:Yami no Matsuei, Mahou Sensei Negima and many others, shikigami are depicted as magical servants made from folded or cut paper. * In the Wikipedia:anime OVA Wikipedia:Doomed Megalopolis (an adaptation of the novel Wikipedia:Teito Monogatari), the evil onmyōji, Wikipedia:Yasunori Kato, is constantly seen summoning hundreds of black shikigami to perform his bidding. * In the anime series Wikipedia:Shaman King, Wikipedia:Yohmei Asakura, the grandfather of Wikipedia:Yoh Asakura, utilizes sprite-like shikigami resembling small Totoro using tree leaves as mediums for them. Wikipedia:Hao Asakura owns two Wikipedia:oni-like shikigami, Zenki and Kouki, who are later on used by Wikipedia:Anna Kyoyama after she is able to tame the two. * In Wikipedia:Zenki, Zenki and Gouki were shikigami of Ozunu Enno, the ancestor of Chiaki Enno, the protagonist. In the series itself, the two act as shikigami for Chiaki. * Wikipedia:Subaru Sumeragi and Wikipedia:Seishirō Sakurazuka, onmyōji from Wikipedia:Tokyo Babylon and Wikipedia:X/1999, employ shikigami as summoned spies and also to spiritually attack opponents. * Shikigami make recurring appearances in the manga/anime series Wikipedia:InuYasha. Wikipedia:Kikyo uses several to collect souls and to deliver messages and creates three human-like shikigami when she is poisoned and needs to bide time to find a way to recover. Two of her shikigami take on the form of two girls, Wikipedia:Kochō and Asuka, and the third one is a replica of herself. Another character in the series, Tsubaki, creates several shikigami as well. Kururugi from the video game Inuyasha: The Cursed Mask uses shikigami as weapons, to heal, and to defend. * Wikipedia:Maggie Mui in the anime Wikipedia:Read or Die: the TV, the middle sister of the three Paper Sisters, creates paper monsters to act as weapons and tools; they are sometimes referred to as shikigami. * The anime Wikipedia:Onmyou Taisenki revolves around the use of shikigami as spirits or fallen deities summoned to fight each other. * The Touhou game Wikipedia:Perfect Cherry Blossom contains a boss, Ran Yakumo, who is a shikigami, and another, Chen, who is the shikigami of that shikigami. * Shikigami along with Shikiouji appear several times in the Japanese video game series Wikipedia:Megami Tensei. * Paper birds in the Wikipedia:Hayao Miyazaki movie Wikipedia:Spirited Away, are also shikigami. * In Japanese anime and manga Wikipedia:Ghost Sweeper Mikami, Meiko Rokudō (六道 冥子), a sweet and innocent but extremely powerful teenage girl, directly controls twelve shikigami. * Shikigami take on the appearance of paper-like floating spirits in the video game Wikipedia:Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. * In the Japanese anime and light novel series Wikipedia:Rental Magica, Nekoyashiki uses four shikigami which take the form of cats. * When the player fights the character Sheena Fujibayashi in the video game Wikipedia:Tales of Symphonia, shikigami appear and fight alongside her. * The four protagonists in the anime Wikipedia:Saiyuki Reload are confronted by 'clone' copies of themselves when they fight a Shikigami. * In the anime Ghost Hunt, Koujo Lin is a onmyōji and he has five shikigami. * In the anime Wikipedia:Abenobashi: Magical Shopping Arcade, Eutus has a shikigami serving him. At one time, he said he had dozens helping him, but turned almost all of them off because they were too noisy. * Shikigami are again animated magical servants in the Wikipedia:Kekkaishi anime; paper dolls that perform tasks. * In the anime/manga series Wikipedia:Tsukuyomi -Moon Phase-, the vampire girl, Hazuki, has a shikigami by the name of Haiji. This information is according to AnimeNfo.com & the Moon Phase anime DVD set; Vol. 2. s are shown as having powers over death in the anime series Death Note; the Shinigami 'Ryuk', pictured, is a primary character in the series, who comes from the death realm to the human and maintains a vigil at the side of a youth to whom he offers these same powers]] * In several of Wikipedia:Laurence Yep's books (most notably the Tiger's Apprentice series), the antagonists use monsters that, when killed, turn into paper dolls. * In the anime & manga series Wikipedia:Naruto, the character Konan uses paper to fight and can also turn into paper. This technique is called "Dance of the Shikigami". Shinigami Wikipedia:Shinigami * In Bleach, the Shinigami are known as "Soul Reapers". * Komachi Onozuka from the Wikipedia:Touhou Project game series is a Shinigami. * Shinigami are among the main characters of Wikipedia:Death Note; most notably Ryuk, who dropped the eponymous artifact in the human world, where it would eventually be found by Wikipedia:Light Yagami. * Most of the action in the manga Soul Eater centers around the students of the Death Weapon Meister Academy (Shinigami Buki Shokunin Senmon Gakkou; lit. "Polytechnical School for Death God Weaponsmiths") striving to turn their partner into a scythe for Shinigami-sama, the school's headmaster. Shinigami-sama also has a son, Death the Kid (who was said to be a Shinigami himself as well), who enrolls into the Academy early in the series. * Momo, the lead heroine of the miniseries Wikipedia:Shinigami no Ballad, is a modern, light rendition of a Shinigami. * Ai Enma from the Wikipedia:anime/Wikipedia:manga series Wikipedia:Hell Girl is technically a Shinigami due to the role she plays in the series. * In Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi's manga series Wikipedia:Rin-ne, Shinigami are death gods who lead the souls of the dead to the wheel of reincarnation which then brings that person back into the world as a different being. * The Japanese versions of the Wikipedia:Castlevania titles refer to Death as Shinigami. * In Wikipedia:Kuroshitsuji several supporting characters are Shinigami. * In the anime Wikipedia:Darker than Black they refer to Hei as the "Kuro no Shinigami"-Black Reaper in English. Shumoku-onna Wikipedia:Final Fantasy XII's Shoopuf drivers, the Hypello, are humanoids with large wide-set eyes in the manner of Shumoku-onna, as seen on the Obake Karuta card pictured. (on Wikia: Hypello Tanuki Wikipedia:Tanuki * All the main characters in Wikipedia:Pom Poko are shapeshifting Tanuki who are trying to save their habitat from urban development. Japanese legends about Tanuki and Wikipedia:kitsune shapeshifting are featured heavily throughout the movie. The Tanuki were mistranslated in the film as raccoons. * In the story Wikipedia:Botchan by Wikipedia:Natsume Soseki, the protagonist refers to his employer, a school principal, as "Tanuki", although this has been mistranslated as "Badger" in the English version (However, to all intents and purposes, "Badger" may be the best translation, since the verb "badger" means to pester or annoy someone). * In the Bleach series, shortly before being taken to Wikipedia:Soul Society for her execution, Wikipedia:Rukia Kuchiki leaves Wikipedia:Ichigo Kurosaki a note written in the ta-nuki code (in which the message is written syllable by syllable, each of them interspersed with the character ta; ta-nuki literally means "take ta off"), and draws a Tanuki next to the note as a clue. * Hachi, from the anime series Wikipedia:InuYasha, takes the form of a Tanuki, though he is introduced as a badger in the English dub. * Wikipedia:Urusei Yatsura, which was written by the same author as InuYasha (Wikipedia:Rumiko Takahashi) also features a Tanuki in comical situations. * In Wikipedia:Naruto, the one-tailed demon Shukaku that is sealed inside the body of Wikipedia:Gaara is based on the Tanuki. * The Tanuki is well-represented in video games as one of Wikipedia:Mario's power-ups in Wikipedia:Super Mario Bros. 3, in which the Super Leaf and P-Wing gave Mario/Luigi the ears and tail of a raccoon, enabling him to fly and spin-attack the enemies, as well as a Tanuki suit that, aside from the capabilities normally granted by the Super Leaf, also enabled Mario or Luigi to briefly turn into a statue to let enemies pass by. Tanuki also appear as a pair of characters in Wikipedia:Super Mario Sunshine, the action stage identifier from Wikipedia:The Legend of the Mystical Ninja and Rocky from Wikipedia:Pocky & Rocky. * Wikipedia:Tom Nook, the shopkeeper in Wikipedia:Animal Crossing, is a Tanuki (although translated as a raccoon) and the furniture and other objects that he buys and sells transform into leaves when stored in a player's inventory. His name in Japanese, Tanukichi, is a much more obvious play on the word Tanuki. Tom Nook's nephews, Timmy and Tommy, are also Tanuki. * The Tanuki, the mythical figure as well as the modern animal, play a large part in Wikipedia:Tom Robbins' novel Wikipedia:Villa Incognito. card set. The hiragana kana character is た, read as ta]] * "The Masked Tanuki" is an episode of the American animated Wikipedia:television show Wikipedia:Kappa Mikey and is also the name of the Wikipedia:superhero identity of Guano. * Tanuki also appear in the 2005 Wikipedia:Seijun Suzuki film Wikipedia:Princess Raccoon (aka Operetta tanuki goten). * In the Wikipedia:Ever17 visual novel by KID, Komachi Tsugumi wears a mascot Tanuki suit and beats the protagonist pretty hard when he tries to seek the help from her, when he gets lost in amusement park. Later, Yuubiseiharukana explains that isn't a "tanuki", but a "lemur". * In the manga/anime Wikipedia:Shaman King, one of Tamao Tamamura's guardian ghosts is a Tanuki (Ponchi). * In the videogame Wikipedia:Ōkami, Tanuki statues can be seen in front of various shops. * In the videogame Wikipedia:Shinobido, Tanuki statues can be seen in front of various shops. * In the manga/anime Wikipedia:One Piece, the reindeer Wikipedia:Tony Tony Chopper is often called a Tanuki. * Wikipedia:Oy of the Mid-World, a character of the Stephen King's Wikipedia:The Dark Tower saga, seems to be based on the Tanuki. * In the anime Wikipedia:Ouran High School Host Club, Hikaru says that Haruhi looks like a Tanuki, making Tamaki upset because he called her a "raccoon dog." * In the Wikipedia:Renkin 3-kyū Magical? Pokān episode "The Hot Spell is the Spontaneous Onsen," the four princesses encounter Tanuki in the form of women that ended up luring the girls into a hot spring that they were looking for and end up stealing their clothes near the end of the episode. When they noticed the tanukis in their clothes close to the end, Uma claims that this is what they meant by "tricked by a Tanuki." * Tanuki are featured in Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds. They reside in Yokai Island's Bamboo Forest and have been bewitched by the 4th Lord of Chaos named Kitsune. They are shown as their usual descriptions, but are larger than normal, wearing a nightcap, and can breathe fire. * In the Japanese Wikipedia:Transformers cartoon series Wikipedia:Beast Wars Neo, there is a character named Wikipedia:Heinlad who has the ability to time-travel. He transforms into a Tanuki with a clock imbedded in its stomach. * In Wikipedia:Street Fighter III, the character Ibuki owns a Tanuki named Don. * Reiko Asagiri from the anime Wikipedia:Gate Keepers has a statue of a Tanuki in her collection of souvenirs from places she and her fellow AEGIS agents operated. Tengu Wikipedia:Tengu * In Season Three of Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (as well as Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie), the Tengas are based on Tengus. A Tengu also appears in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger who was adapted into Professor Longnose in the 10-episode mini series Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. * In the MMORPG game Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds, there is a monster called Dai Tengu. * In the videogame Wikipedia:Dead or Alive 2, the final boss is a Tengu called Bankotsubo. * Wikipedia:Aya Shameimaru and Wikipedia:Hatate Himekaidou from the Wikipedia:Touhou Project series are crow Tengu. Momizi Inubashiri, who is Aya's subordinate, is a white wolf Tengu. * In Wikipedia:Mega Man 8, Wikipedia:Mega Man & Bass, and Wikipedia:Mega Man Battle Network 6 one of the robot masters encountered is Tenguman, a robot based on Tengus. * Wikipedia:Mr. Karate of the Wikipedia:Art of Fighting series and the Wikipedia:King of Fighters series wears a Tengu mask. * In Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, a video game for the Wikipedia:Wii, Tengu are one of the various enemies the main character's battle. is pictured on this Obake Karuta card. He is depicted in a fictional context, though, facing a Tsuchigumo. The hiragana character is ら, read as ra]] * In Season One, episode 9 of Wikipedia:Samurai Champloo, the warriors in the mountain are referred to as Tengu. * In the anime Wikipedia:Occult Academy there are rumors of a Tengu in the first episodes but it is proven later that this was actually just a Mothman. * In the manga Black Bird, Kyo Usui is the leader of the Tengu Clan. Tsuchigumo Wikipedia:Tsuchigumo * Tsuchigumo appears in the anime OVA Karas (voiced by Wikipedia:Mary Elizabeth McGlynn). She appears as a robotic spider Mikura who assumes the form of a woman and is loyal to Eko. * Yamame Kurodani from Wikipedia:Touhou Project is a Tsuchigumo, but somewhat resembles an Argiope Spider. * The first Wikipedia:Makamou to be defeated in Wikipedia:Kamen Rider Hibiki is called Tsuchigumo. * A Tsuchigumo is the first Ayakashi to appear in the Wikipedia:Omamori Himari anime. It posseessed minor character Taizo Masaki and attacked Yuto and Rinko on the school's rooftop until it was driven out and killed by Himari. Wikipedia:naruto Tsukumogami . Geta is the Japanese platform sandal, visible as the head of the creature. The hiragana character is け, read as ke]]Wikipedia:Tsukumogami * In the animated movie Wikipedia:Hellboy: Sword of Storms, Professor Sakai (possessed by the demons Lightning and Thunder) sends a bunch of malevolent "artifact spirits" after Wikipedia:Hellboy's allies Kate Corrigan and Russel Thorne. * The Tsukumogami appear in AdventureQuest Worlds. They are found in Yokai Island's junkyard and come in different shapes. * In the manga/anime Wikipedia:Omamori Himari, Lizlet L. Chelsie is a Tsukumogami whose true body is a teacup. She appears as a busty young girl dressed in a maid's outfit and her human body can withstand stabs from bladed weapons and is capable of superhuman strength. Her main weakness, however, is her true body, as she is symbiotic to it. * In the Wikipedia:anime Wikipedia:Hell Girl, one of Ai's assistants, Ren Ichimoku, is a Tsukumogami whose true form is a Wikipedia:katana. He usually appears as a handsome young man dressed in modern clothing, and is also the one who becomes the blue straw doll whenever revenge is requested. Umibōzu Wikipedia:Umibōzu * Wikipedia:Shigeru Mizuki's popular manga series Wikipedia:Gegege no Kitaro features an Umibōzu in its cast. * A character in the manga Wikipedia:City Hunter is nicknamed "Umibōzu". He is a large muscle-bound hitman and his bald head is what earned him the nickname of Umibōzu. * In a filler arc of the anime Wikipedia:Naruto, a man who is an accomplice of Orochimaru named Amachi summoned a creature known as Umibōzu, which is a monster made up of water with a grey outline as a body. It was sometimes used to help sink ships traveling from the Sea Country to the Water Country. * Umi Bōzu is Wikipedia:Monster in My Pocket #118. * Umibōzu is the name of an elite special forces unit in the JMSDF from the anime Wikipedia:Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. * Umibōzu is also the name of Kagura's father (who is bald and has been referred to as a monster) in the manga Wikipedia:Gintama. * The manga/anime/movie Wikipedia:Lovely Complex features a fictitious band named Umibōzu with an eponymous, bald lead singer. * A traditional Umibōzu folktale is told in the second story arc of the anime Mononoke, a sequel to Wikipedia:Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, which combined folktales, Kabuki plays, and animated versions of 19th century woodblock art prints to retell classic ghost stories. * Umibōzu is a user-driven meta search engine. * In Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the Umibōzu is a gigantic octopus. * The Umibōzu appears in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger as a monster of the day and was adapted as the Hydro Hog in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. Ushi-oni Wikipedia:Ushi-oni * In the Wikipedia:Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, there are three cards featuring ushi-oni: "Ushi Oni" is a bull fiend with four octopus tentacles on its back, "Abare Ushioni" is a bull monster, and "Great Ushi Oni" has the head, torso, and arms of a Wikipedia:minotaur on a spider-like body. * In the anime Karas, a bloodthirsty Ushi-Oni (voiced by Wikipedia:Michael McConnohie) becomes a mechanized 'Mikura' concealing itself in the form of a police chief. * In the game Wikipedia:Jade Empire, there is a two headed ushi-oni. * In the manga Wikipedia:Naruto, the eight-tailed beast is revealed to be an ushi-oni, built like a minotaur with eight octopus tentacles. * In the anime and manga series Wikipedia:One Piece, Wikipedia:Roronoa Zoro, one of the main characters, performs a technique called after this creature. The attack is named "Gyuuki Yuzume" (Demon Ox Brave Claws). * The Japanese heavy metal band Wikipedia:Onmyouza have a song titled "Ushi-oni Matsuri" ("Bull Demon Festival") on their Kojin Rasetsu album. * An Ushi-oni makes an appearance in Japanese director Miike Takashi's film Wikipedia:Gozu. * In the game Wikipedia:Warriors Orochi 2, Gyuki appears as an NPC except in versus mode. * In Wikipedia:Kamen Rider Decade, the Nine Worlds' version of Kamen Rider Hibiki encountered by Tsukasa and co. loses control of his powers and transforms into a Makamou called Gyuki, which is essentially an Ushi-oni. * In the Wikipedia:MMORPG Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, there is a demon named Gyuki that has the appearance of a demon/spider. * The Ushi-oni is also a monster in Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger. Wanyūdō Wikipedia:Wanyūdō * A Wanyūdō was famously portrayed by Japanese artist Wikipedia:Mizuki Shigeru in his yōkai-themed series Wikipedia:GeGeGe no Kitaro. * Wanyūdō appeared in Wikipedia:The Great Yokai War, a 2005 Wikipedia:Takashi Miike film taking inspiration from Mizuki Shigeru's art. * A statue featuring various yokai, including Wanyūdō, was built in Wikipedia:Sakaiminato in 2006. Sakaiminato is Mizuki Shigeru's hometown. * A Wanyūdō who goes by the same name is one of Ai's aides in the Wikipedia:anime Wikipedia:Hell Girl. He usually appears as an elderly man, but assumes his mythological form when escorting Ai to deliver revenge. Wanyūdō is also the one who becomes the black straw doll whenever revenge is requested. * A figure based on Wanyūdō is the first demonic boss in the video game Wikipedia:Kenseiden. * An enemy bearing a strong resemblance to Wanyūdō is seen in the first Wikipedia:Mystical Ninja series game. * The second boss of the area Aitos in the SNES game Wikipedia:ActRaiser is named "Flame Wheel" and is similar to a Wanyūdō. * In the anime Karas, a Wanyūdō (voiced by Wikipedia:Paul St. Peter) is converted into a mechanized demon known as a "Mikura". As a nod to his original form of a burning wheel, this Wanyūdō usually takes the form of a blood-red sports car. * In the Wikipedia:PS2 game Wikipedia:Ōkami, a monster called Fire Eye resembles the Wanyudo but instead of a face, it is an eye. * In the Wikipedia:PS2 game Wikipedia:Dororo there are small somewhat common versions and two big boss version of this Yokai. * In the Wikipedia:Wii game Wikipedia:Muramasa: The Demon Blade, Wanyūdō is featured as a boss character. * Wanyudo is also the name of a song by Wikipedia:Onmyouza. * Wanyudo is featured in Wikipedia:AdventureQuest Worlds. He is shown with the same description, but with fire on its head and referred to as the Soul Taker. Yuki-onna Wikipedia:Yuki-onna * Letty Whiterock from the Wikipedia:Touhou Project game Perfect Cherry Blossom is a Yuki-onna. *The character Yukina the sister of Wikipedia:Hiei from Wikipedia:Yu Yu Hakusho. * The character Mizore Shirayuki from the Wikipedia:manga/Wikipedia:anime series Wikipedia:Rosario + Vampire is a Yuki-onna dressed in modern clothing and is often seen with a lollipop in her mouth. * The character Yukino Houjou from the game/Wikipedia:manga/Wikipedia:anime series Wikipedia:Gate Keepers highly resembles a Yuki-onna due to both her appearance and her powers. Arguably, she can be technically considered as one due to this. Zashiki-warashi Wikipedia:Zashiki-warashi * In Wikipedia:Jigoku Sensei Nube, there is a Zashiki-warashi that Nube always offers rice biscuits to. In return, the zashiki-warashi gives Nube good luck. * In the manga/anime series Wikipedia:Omamori Himari, Kaya is a Zashiki-warashi that guards the house of Yuto's late grandparents in Noihara. She is extremely jealous of Yuto to a point that she wishes he would be dead. * In Wikipedia:Sayonara, Zetsubou-Sensei Kafuka says that Kiri is a Zashiki-Warashi, later this is proven when she leaves the school and it crumbles. * In Wikipedia:Ninja Sentai Kakuranger has a Zashiki-warashi who befriends kids and then Ninja Black but was forced to fight for the Youkai Army but betrays them and is later killed. This monster was adapted as the monster form of Farkus "Bulk" Bulkmeier known as Bratboy in Wikipedia:Mighty Morphin Alien Rangers. References Bookmarks * Death Note AnimeSeason.com. A modern interpretation of the world of the mythological Shinigami is the background of this psychological thriller * Final Fantasy X-2. YouTube. Hypello at 2:00. As in FFX, Hypellos share the distinctive form of Shumoku-onna * Ghost in the Shell AnimeFreak.tv. Philosophical, even verbose dialogue, paramilitary police action and fleeting mentions of mythology (names, mostly) * Hellboy: Sword of Storms 1 hr. 14:37 min. Stage VU. A plethora of stylized spirits and demons as hack and slay fodder * Hell Girl Hulu.com. Drama close to Wikipedia:morality plays in form revolve around the title's Shinigami, Ai Enma, and associated characters who are spirits * Inuyasha Anime-Media.com. A setting mostly in a medieval Japan of mythology and thus with many examples of Japanese culture nonetheless is suborned to fight sequences, slapstick comedy and one-upmanship * Karas Streaming Anime List. AnimeTopList.org: list of sites (performance may vary with area, animefreak tested to work best in one area). The "Eldritch" dimension, having separated from Earth's in ancient times, comes close enough that creatures from mythology can slip through again to wreak havoc upon an Earth that no longer believes in their existence. * Mononoke. WatchAnimeon.com. Much of episodes 3 to 5 are traditional not only in setting and characters, but storyline and presentation, albeit with ultra-modern visual rendering. Computer-generated imagery creates the stage and players (in the same way as Futurama and other modern animation), and a line-drawing animation technique like Wikipedia:PowerAnimator gives it a finish much more similar to anime than feature film CGI. * Natsume Yuujinchou AnimeCrazy.net. A plethora of stylized spirits and demons given speaking roles. A rare affirmation of altruism and good works, it may be too sweet for some Citations Category:Mythology in popular culture Category:Mythology lists Category:Anime Category:Anime lists Category:Manga Category:Interactive storytelling Category:Cultural history Category:Cultures Category:Video games Category:Film Category:Games Category:Asian mythology Category:Japanese mythology Category:Japanese mythology in popular culture Category:Asian mythology in popular culture